Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

Thursday, June 25, 2009

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One of the brightest stars in pop culture’s constellation faded away forever today, when Michael Jackson suddenly died from cardiac arrest in Los Angeles. He was 50 years old.

A singer since early childhood with the Jackson 5 and later one of the most successful recording artists of all time, Jackson became better known in his later years for living a quirky lifestyle and allegedly molesting young, usually sick children. Most notoriously, Jackson - whose Neverland Ranch sits beneath Figueroa Mountain in the Santa Ynez Valley - was charged by Santa Barbara County authorities with child molestation and endured an unimaginably long trial in 2005 with the whole world watching. A jury of his “peers” from the Santa Maria area eventually found him not guilty on all counts, yet he never really returned to the public sphere, choosing to spend his time in far-off lands and hiding from cameras.

Paul Wellman (file)

Michael Jackson leaves the Santa Maria Courthouse on a rainy day in March, 2005

After personally watching the man’s bizarre life paraded in front of everyone, I can’t blame the King of Pop for retreating from his throne. As the reporter who covered his trial for both The Independent and Time Magazine, my life became strangely intertwined with his, stretching back from his January 2004 arraignment - when he triumphantly stood atop a car in front of thousands of fans in the middle of a Santa Maria street - to beyond his judgment in the summer of 2005, when I spent weeks after the trial working on a proposal for a never-to-be-published book about the previous six months of madness.

Though I’d managed to stay more objective than most of the hysterically he’s-guilty-as-sin media masses during the whole ordeal - for the record, I thought he was innocent until I saw the videotape of the allegedly abused kid’s initial accusation - I could not deny that my career success and future wealth as a best-selling author hinged on his demise. As a young journalist idealistically committed to the Truth, the situation was peculiarly blinding, but one thing remained vividly clear: Guilty or innocent of the horrendous charges, Michael Jackson was a victim, too, a survivor of physical and mental abuse, the prey of a perilously probing public eye, a complete casualty of fame. Occasionally disheveled - remember “pajama day?” - usually distant, and always frail, Michael Jackson could have dropped dead during the trial, and no one would have been surprised.

Paul Wellman (file)

Michael Jackson

Like most everyone born in 1977 or thereabouts, my connection to Michael Jackson went back all the way to my childhood, when the singer’s life in the limelight taught me about celebrity, skin color, serious music-making, and how to get down. He showed me how to moonwalk, of course, and why Bad - my first cassette tape at age 10 - means “good,” but he also clued me in to the fact that my Grandma Barbara was to be a most trusted ally in life: She rented me the video for Thriller when my mom wouldn’t, an early step toward a wonderful relationship that continues to guide my life, even though she passed on nearly a decade ago.

To this day, Michael Jackson’s music makes my generation move with carefree glee - throw on any 1980s Michael Jackson song at a house party and watch the mouths start to move and bodies begin to shake. It’s a fun, oddly guilty joy to groove to MJ, much like dancing was in my Catholic junior high. It’s a proud feeling though, too, and I’m quick to admit that when I finally broke down and entered the cell phone world in 2004, “Billie Jean” was my first ringtone, more than 20 years after its release on the 1982 album Thriller, which sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and is considered the best-selling album ever. Some are saying that June 25, 2009, is “the day that pop music died,” but that’s just a silly sound bite. The King of Pop died, but long live the King of Pop’s music.

In the long run, it just might be better this way. Though Michael Jackson was planning a comeback with a series of concerts in London starting this summer - financed, in part, by Santa Ynez Valley rancher Tom Barrack, who also bailed out Neverland Ranch - the kickoff had already been delayed, and signs were pointing to failure. To have gone out on a flop tour wouldn’t have been fitting for royalty.

Paul Wellman (file)

Michael Jackson in March, 2005

It’s hard to deny that the recorded and packaged Michael Jackson will always be more universally enjoyable than the real deal, especially since he dove so deeply into oddity in his later years. Although already one of the world’s most recognizable faces, Jackson started sucking the fame of those before and after him like a pop vampire, marrying, albeit briefly, the daughter of Elvis, buying up the rights to most of the Beatles catalog, cozying up to the next generation of stars like Macaulay Culkin. He made babies with untraditional names - Prince Michael, Paris, and Prince Michael II, aka Blanket - and, well, let’s not even get into his shifting skin tones and morphing facial structure. While he publicly denied a taste for pornography and drug and alcohol abuse - realities that were officially admitted during the trial - Jackson never shied away from showing off his assembled zoo animals, talking about his oxygen tanks, chimpanzees, and spending sprees, waving his babies from hotel balconies, and embracing the only people weirder than he, his fans.

Paul Wellman (file)

Michael Jackson (left) on top of his SUV outside the Santa Maria Courthouse in Jan. 2004

But in the shadow of his death, I’m pretty sure that those who publicly proclaim themselves Michael Jackson fans will be many millions strong, including both the fringe folk and those like myself who would otherwise pass for “normal.” Michael Jackson lived a tremendous and troubled life, and I hope he finds peace in whatever comes next.

After his January 2004 arraignment, I came back to the office so overwhelmed by the experience that we decided to run the resulting article as The Santa Barbara Independent‘s cover story that following week. My conclusion seems as appropriate now as it was then. “The businesslike mood of the courtroom - where I sat unfazed and unmoved just a few feet from Jackson, the man who introduced my generation to music - had evaporated. All of a sudden, I had chills - my professional demeanor was instantly blown. In the previous 24 hours, I’d laughed at fanatical fans, cursed the overblown media coverage, and questioned the motives of both the accusers and the accused. But it was with sincerity that I smiled as Jackson thanked his fans from atop his car last Friday, recognizing the genuinely heartfelt connection between the ¼ber celebrity and his dedicated followers. Maybe he’s guilty, maybe he’s innocent - but it was clear to me last Friday he will always be the King of Pop.”

Comments

our scumbag sheriff should sleep well tonight. we lost a hero. we lost a master. i'll miss him as many, but like john lennon and john kennedy he will never be forgotten. our district attorney should be ashamed for the shame they tried to tag mr. jackson.this realy sucks and to think that sob ex-sheriff kick himout of our santa ynez valley. shamehe was making a come-bach with sold out concerts. let the one that is free of sin cast the first stone.

You were wrong from the very first phrase, "One of the brightest stars in today's pop culture constellation..." He is (was) most definitely NOT a part of today's pop culture. He was 50 years old and most of the "pop culture" saw him as a weird relic from the past. He hadn't had a best seller for over a decade. "Has been" is a very apt phrase.

Mr. Beethoven was the rock star of his time, similar to the celebrity of Mr. Jackson. Both were abused as children. Both had personality disorders and behaved badly often. Mr. Tchaikovski molested teen-aged boys and his music is played every Christmas for children. Others like Hayden were gentleman, kind and courteous. The moral is, the personality has little if anything to do with the music one makes. Just as doctors and judges can be raving alcoholics and still function, so can composers create their craft and their personality characteristics be average or askew.

I think he died of a broken heart. And is Herr Sneddon crowing again "We got him?" His star witness, Janet Arviso, is the kind of abusive mother Santa Barbara enables - gold digging false accusers. And she taught her children well - trot out the "abuse" and go for the big bucks.

Think of the real child abuse that could be addressed with the millions spent on Sneddons farewell show trial.

Michael Jackson was definitely a part of the soundtrack to my life. I remember listening to the Jackson 5 on my tinny AM radio when I was a kid. And after being abroad for sometime and away from American music, I remember returning to the states just before Thriller came out. Man, that video was playing everywhere! And who could forget that voice cameo by Vincent Price.

Old timers like Mick Jagger and David Crosby are still with us and pushing 70 so it seems unfair that MJ only made it to 50. Despite the controversy that surrounded Jackson's personal life, we'll never know how his upcoming tour could have changed his career or the public's perception of him. Certainly his fans have lost out.

Not just me but all people that like his singular style of dancing, without mention all his amazing songs. We all got surprised and chocked with this heavy news. Michael's death sounds like the world could not expect any better singer so longer, because he will be the best forever. Ta-s from Brazil

I am very disappointed in this article. M. was aquited by a SM jury, Sneddon's chosen ones. Give it a break. Your involvement is insignificant to the greatness of the King of Pop. He was one of the all time greatest entertainers of all time. Give him that credit in this time of our mourning and put your minisquiual part in its proper perspective. I doubt there will be anyone in our lifetime to equal his talent and fame and that is all you need to say. Listen to the music and appreciate that you and no one else could possibly duplicate it.

minisquiual- also sp as-miniscule- very small; limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent; as in small minded weirdos named santabarbarasand, and the quality of Matt's article here that does not do justice to M. who has been recognized over the last couple of days as maybe the most famous and most appreciated and loved person on the face of the earth for the music he made for us.

It's clear from these comments alone that people are still really divided about this guy.

Personally, I think Sneddon is a world class tool and a horrible DA who, in his small town bravado, acted shamingly unprofessionally and ridiculously.

But this is not rocket science, here. People are mercurial and unpredictable and are sometimes possessed of the most shocking dualities. Even famous and talented ones.

Michael Jackson was one of the greatest entertainers of all time. He was truly talented, though in the last couple of decades he was more riding on hype than his once flawless talent, it's clear he was a legend. A true star and an original.

He was also a man of pathological shyness and insecurity. He referred to his childhood as abusive and painful and on many occasions described himself as still a child, in essence. Add to that his inexplicable admission to the world that he enjoyed getting into bed and cuddling with someone else's children, even calling it "charming".....well, I know what I'm thinking. If my best friend invited my child to sleep in the same bed with her slept in the same bed with my child, I'd consider *that* inappropriate. The very idea that a grown man can't understand what is wrong with that, even if he did nothing wrong, shows how out of touch with reality he really was and how sheltered from reality he was by his friends and advisors.

Certainly, as someone pointed out, he WAS acquitted. He's not been found guilty of anything. But there's certainly reasons to believe he could have been gulity of these charges, regardless of how shoddily they were presented and carried out.

The people who defend him based on his fame or talent alone remind me of those who think a person couldn't be a rapist because he's "too good looking." Sometimes, things aren't what they seem.

I will forever recall the Summer of 2009 erupted with the jaw-dropping news that Michael Jackson was dead. It felt like a blow to the stomach, stunning and breath-taking. A speculation and sadness spread like wildfire as every news facility hammered out the news: The King Is Dead. The artist who gave a pulse to our lives for decades was gone: a victim of excess- too much exposure, too much pressure, too many indulgences, too much pain, and failure to listen to angels of better judgement. There had been warnings. But how does one see the end when you're traveling on a yellow brick road? Yes, he was both blessed and cursed. The further he reached, the closer the flame. Eccentricities took him down a path of exploitation, self-serving paparazzi, and crushing debt. Here, he was consumed and when the media had its' fill, they left behind a tormented soul who never recovered from the personal tresspass. His life converted to one of concealment and he left the world to muse his doings. Somewhere along the line the choices became overdrawn and our dear Michael was taken from us. But there is talk of a new recording that was in the works and hopefully, the powers that be will one day release that joyful noise.

A beautiful heart, mind, and soul....forever. He never STOPPED making great music. He never STOPPED trying to make the world a better place. Many in this cold world had simply stopped believing in him.Look deeper, everyone....the truth is out there!Here is some right now...some here might read it, open their minds, and let in the light.http://charlesthomsonjournalist.blogs...